Q: I said, what kind of speech is brand when used in business literature?

A: A metaphor…a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily describes one thing is used to designate another thing.

Q: So, why do definitions of brand seem so inadequate to you?

A: …because they are defining the metaphor and not what the metaphor represents. We should be defining what brand stands for.

Q: Yes, and what does brand represent?

A: Ownership. Branding isn’t about branding. It’s about ownership.

Q: Good. Now some final questions, how do human beings mark the things they own? And why is this such a natural instinct? And what do others learn about the owners by the marks? And how does this result in quality? How does this contribute to the recognition of the value the things marked? What kinds of ownership are there?